BTC.ee Halts Trading Due to "Threats Issued By The Estonian Police"
An online local bitcoin trading post, BTC.ee, has temporarily halted trading "due to threats issues by the Estonian police." The news comes from the site itself, which as of Wednesday, has a relatively large banner with the information. Otto de Voogd, operator of the website, reportedly receive emails from the Estonian Financial Intelligence Unit requesting "copies of IDs of clients, internal measures or procedure of due diligence," along with evidence the site was registered as a currency trading service. Failure to produce the documents could be punishable with a fine up to €32,000 and....
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As the Estonian authorities continue to tighten their grip on the digital currency trade, local bitcoin trading site BTC.ee (not to be confused with BTC-e) has announced via its website that it has "temporarily stopped trading due to threats issued by the Estonian police". The move follows a warning about bitcoin and other virtual currencies issued by a member of Estonia's central bank earlier this year, in which he called bitcoin a "problematic scheme" and said that "virtual currency schemes are an innovation that [deserve] some caution". Otto de Voogd, the site's owner, told local....
BTC.ee owner alleges threats by Estonian police and moves business out of the country as Supreme Court of the country on Monday ruled against Bitcoin in a landmark case. BTC.ee recently announced closure over threats by the Estonian police. The website had an ominous notice posted on it about the closure stating, “Apparently the Estonian police can re-interpret the law, keep their interpretation secret, and apply it retroactively and arbitrarily. Unfortunately the courts in Estonia do not appear to see a problem with that.” Supreme Court rejected the claim by de Voogd that his activity....
The Estonian Supreme Court has asked the country's central bank, two of its civil ministries and its top financial regulator to answers questions related to bitcoin as it considers a case on the legality of the digital currency. The questions focus on the application of anti-money laundering (AML) statutes to bitcoin activities, as well as the broader nature of the financial technology, according to a translation of the court's 19th November decision. Eesti Pank, the Interior and Finance Ministries, and the Estonian Financial Supervision Authority must respond to the court's request by....
The Estonian Financial Intelligence Unit on Friday stopped its investigation of a Bitcoin trader in the Northern Baltic European nation. The decision comes after Otto de Voogd had evidently exercised his right to remain silent over the course of two years. In February 2014, de Voogd’s BTC.ee announced it “temporarily stopped trading due to threats issued by Estonian police.” The Estonian Financial Intelligence Unit and Border Guard Board emailed de Voogd, demanding details about the company’s registration, anti-money laundering procedures and other due diligence processes ‒ proof that he....
The Estonian Supreme Court has ruled in favor of restrictions on bitcoin trading activity in the wake of a lawsuit filed by a digital currency broker. The ruling, which came in the wake of a long-running lawsuit that began as a inquiry into the legality of bitcoin, means that traders face new barriers for dealing in digital currencies in the European state. The suit traces back to 2014, when bitcoin brokerage operator Otto de Voogd was first contacted by Estonian police in connection with the operation of BTC.ee. De Voogd later suspended the service, citing threats of fines and jail time....